Terry, who vociferously denied the charge and was cleared in a court of law, was found guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.

The FA laid out their reasons, and in doing so attacked Ashley Cole's supporting evidence, saying: "The commission is quite satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that there is no credible basis for Terry's defence [in using the phrase].

"In common with the Crown's proceedings, the FA's case is that Mr Terry said the words by way of an insult to Mr Ferdinand. It is not the FA's case that Mr Terry is a racist."

They added that Terry's defence was "improbable, implausible and contrived".